Message from Chairman PEC Engr. Dr. Muhammad Akram Sheikh

ENGINEER PEC September 2007sharply as they advance through their careers. The monitor student progress to assess why women scientistsresulting isolation impedes research, increases stress, and engineers loose interest in the discipline. Specificand may lead to abandonment of a scientific or funding sources should be targeted at women to attractengineering career. The period when successful scientific them to applied science and engineering. Comprehensiveor engineering careers are usually forged corresponds to interventions should be targeted toward women andthe period of childbearing. Experimental work, which implemented in diverse institutions to attract more femalemakes extraordinary demands on availability in time or students. The research based on interventions for womenlocation, raises conflicts with the family responsibilities that in science and engineering at the undergraduate levelcontinue to be disproportionately borne by women. should be expanded by funding longitudinal evaluations ofWomen graduate students are often dissuaded from selected programs. Newer models and strategies shouldpursuing certain areas of science. In some disciplines they be developed, evaluated and revised where necessary forare discouraged by faculty and student colleagues from involving faculty members in strategies to increase thepursuing mathematical or theoretical investigations; in participation of undergraduate women in science andother fields women are discouraged from pursuing engineering.experimental work [2-5].Graduate and Postdoctoral InitiativesWomen on Frontiers of Science & EngineeringTo promote graduate education of women in science andWe cannot succeed on many critically important policy engineering requires a lot to do such as confidencematters without the full participation of women and building or financial prosperity aspects need to beminorities, in both the development and the support of awakened in women graduate students to gain scientificeffective policy and action. The fraction of working women expertise and effective communication skills to go forwardparticipating in the scientific and engineering work force is in careers in science and engineering. To retain graduatesmaller than that of men. However, as the need for students in the sciences and engineering, departmentsscientists and engineers increases for the R&D enterprise, and institutions must develop programs of positivewomen should find greater opportunities to pursue careers incentives for faculty. For instance, initially proportionalin these fields. Nonetheless, to increase women's seats may be reserved for women researchers. The levelparticipation in science and engineering, many barriers playing field concept for women graduate students mustmust be overcome. HEC has several important roles be articulately and concretely demonstrated by upperrelated to these challenges. One of these roles is to inform management of the academic institution. Universityboth the science and engineering community and the management should consider women graduate studentpublic of the need to increase the participation of women in problems such as child bearing/rearing issues andscientific and engineering careers—to increase not only personal family issues of talented females. If such facilitieseconomic competitiveness but also educational and are not provided to the female candidates then they willoccupational equity. Three important factors have look for alternate options giving above facilities. Resolvingseriously been realized by the educators around the globe. issues related to balancing family and scientific careergoals for women graduate students must be a high priorityTo examine a sample of interventions from the wide for any academic institution. Women at graduate andspectrum known to have been established in the private postdoctoral level usually are married with familyand public sectors both men and women, in science and responsibilities. They need financial assistance to copeengineering careers; To determine the characteristics with routine problems. Universities can arrange specialshared by programs considered to meet that objective; and pay package out of projects for female researchers toto discuss methods of implementing such programs on a increase women involvement in science and engineeringbroader scale. Finally, it heightened awareness of what [2, 5].universities are doing to increase the quantity and qualityof students pursuing careers in the sciences and Graduate-and postdoctoral-level interventions aid theengineering. We need to look for the practical strategies for process whereby individuals form the networks that lead toincreasing the participation of women in science and job opportunities, shared research and, ultimately, a senseengineering—at the undergraduate and graduate levels of of the possibilities, both personal and professional, in theirstudies [2-3].chosen fields of study. The percentage of women enrolledin graduate science and engineering programs is on theUndergraduate Study Initiativesrise in all fields except computer science and the socialsciences. Of some concern, however, is the lengtheningSenior educators and international expert reports time-to-degree of students pursuing doctorates in sciencerecommend increasing initiatives for escalating women and engineering. In all fields except engineering, womenparticipation in science and engineering at the tend to have longer registered time-to-degree and totalundergraduate level. Higher education institutions should time-to-degree, which is the total number of years, elapsed43